FundingStrat

 

When to use it?

 

After deploying the Utility Close and Impact Close and hitting some resistance around timing (although a trigger event has already been discussed).

 

What does it sound like?

 

“Considering (insert initiative) and (insert compelling/trigger event) it looks like this really is the best time to close and fund.  That check out with you?”

 

Ex.

 

“Considering you’re gearing up to acquire your competitor due to his recent closing and there is only a limited time to get this deal done, it looks like this is really the best time to close and fund.  That check out with you?”

 

How it works?

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OKR is an acronym that stands for Objectives and Key Results.  It is a very effective goal setting and management framework that helps individuals and teams implement strategic execution and accomplish some pretty amazing things.

 

OKR is a tremendously powerful tool, especially in times of uncertainty, when stern direction (with flexible approaches) are needed.  Andy Grove, born Andras Istvan Grof in Hungary 1936, survived the Holocaust by taking on a false identity and reaching America with little English and no money.

 

He eventually joined a fledgling company called Intel and transformed it using a method he created known as OKR.

 

Grove and his method took Intel from a precarious position to putting personal computers in 84% of American households by 2017, increasing revenues from $1.9 billion to $26 billion.

 

OKR’s primary tenet was that execution is more important than mere ideas.  Grove, who fought his way through Communist Hungary to then become Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year,” was living proof of this – really a “walking OKR.”

 

The simple version of OKR consists of an Objective, which defines a goal to be achieved, and up to 5 Key Results (3 is best), which measure progress towards the Objective.

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What does it sound like?

 

“The timing doesn’t feel right.”

 

Where does it typically show up?

 

Closing Call: selling an Approval to a prospect.

 

What do we do with it?

 

Turn around.  Key Objective: to turn around the objection, engage the lead further, and continue to guide the lead through the sales process to ultimately close and fund!

 

How do we turn it around?

 

“You must have very good reasons for feeling that way, what’s going on?”

 

Why do we say it?

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“In my opinion, client retention has never been more important during an ever-changing landscape.”

– Heather Francis

 

Altify’s 2017 Business Performance Benchmark Study found these to be B2B CEOs’ most important strategic focus:

 

87.3% – Customer Retention

86.5% – Revenue Growth

73.1% – Profit Growth

65.2% – Operational Efficiency

64.6% – Increased Market Share

38.0% – Cost Reduction

 

Customer Retention edged out all the others for the #1 most important strategic focus.

 

Why?

 

Because:

• Acquiring a new customer is 5-7x as expensive as retaining an existing customer.

• The success rate of selling to a customer you already have is 60-70%, while the success rate of selling to a new customer is 5-20%.

• Increasing customer retention rates by 5% can increase profits by 25-95%.

 

If all this sounds important, we need to remember that:

• 89% of businesses report their customers state that their user experience is the key factor in their loyalty.

 

The user experience is essentially customer service, how we serve and provide value to the customer (continually).

 

Well, what is the user experience that will drive customers away (to churn)?

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The late Dr. Stephen Covey synthesized the common patterns in the leaders he studied and worked with in his 1989 best-seller, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

 

At the core of his message is the belief that the way we see the world is entirely based on our own perceptions.  In order to change any given situation, we must change ourselves.  And, in order to change ourselves, we must be able to change our perceptions.

 

Put simply, in the context of this crisis:

 

In order to change/improve the state of things during this crisis, we must change/improve ourselves first.

 

In order to change/improve ourselves, we must change/improve our perceptions.

 

“The way we see the problem is the problem.”

-Covey

 

To undergo a paradigm shift and upgrade ourselves fundamentally, we must go beyond the surface level and alter our behavior for the long-term.

 

This is where the habits (7) come in:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin with the End in Mind
3. Put First Things First
4. Think Win-Win
5. Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the Saw

 

6.  Synergize

 

Quick Hits:

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